Minneapolis melodic pop rock band Love in October released their debut EP Words of Sound back in March. They just returned from the studio where they finished their first full-length album (slated for Jan. ‘08) with former Get Up Kids drummer Ryan Pope and producer Ed Rose (Motion City Soundtrack, Limbeck). They’ve been gigging around the country, opening for the Plain White T’s and Secondhand Serenade at Six Flags Great America (MTV Summer Concert) and playing Dfest.

We sat down with the band to learn more about the group and how they plan to stand out in a world of copycats.

How did the band come about?
Historically, this band dates back to the ice age when two cave men ran out of fresh mammoth meat and started beating femur bones from small to medium sized animals on hollow logs. The cavemen soon discovered rhythm and started making these fat beats to which they added melody and song. A few thousand years passed, and obviously a few band members changed, but this band holds the same fundamental principle of creating music by beating bones to a hollow log until this day. In fact, we don’t write any new music. We just recycle the songs the cavemen wrote thousands of years ago….it’s just easier that way. And so far it’s been working for us. We claim to be the oldest body of music in the world.

Who are your influences?
Well…the cavemen….but that’s obvious. Some not so obvious influences are Swedish bands like Bob Hund, the Wannadies, the Cardigans, and the Hives. I’m also influenced melody-wise by Queen. I’ve forced myself to listen to a lot of new music lately….especially when writing the new record. Inspiration is found in the most unexpected places.

The powerpop genre is pretty crowded these days. How do you guys plan to stand out?
By our charm, wit, and devilishly good looks. I don’t think a band should have a plan to stand out…a band should do whatever feels right to them. I think our EP Words of Sound is a good power pop record, but it does not diverge off the power pop rail road tracks, it plays it safe like a lot of American rock music. Our new full length album, Pontus, The Devil, and Me (out January 2008) takes a pretty big U-turn from where we have been and is all over the pop spectrum and takes so many risks. I feel that we really found our sound on the album and it’ll distinguish us from other rock/pop acts…along with our charm, wit, and good looks. I don’t really think of us as a band though…we’re creators…we make music, videos, art, and do photography. I’m sure we’ll extend the scope of Love in October in the future to go outside if the creative realm and venture into new territories.

Tell us about the track “A Day in The Life Of.”
It’s a fast upbeat pop song with some really cool synth parts in it and a catchy melody. My favorite part of the song is the interlude when it goes from a happy pop song to this dark abortion that comes out of no-where. I’m not sure if I’ve ever described my music as an abortion…hmmm. Anyway…I like the surprise element of that middle part. The lyrics paint a nice picture of what’s going on in this fantasy ballroom. I like lyrics that tell stories like that, but are vague enough to where you can add your own parts to the story. It was also so much fun to make the music video for this song and it came out great.

Tell us about Kent’s new fragrance line.
Every band reaches a point when they have to sell out….we reached point last week. Kent, decided that he wanted to share his scent with the world. So he spent 3 days and 3 nights in our chemistry lab (which also happens to be our kitchen) and developed a potent fragrance so strong it will make a grown man with lots of chest hair cry. The new fragrance ” Kent” by Kent smells like a mixture between Ox urine and vinegar…needless to say it’s very sexy. I think the essence of the scent really came through in his brand new commercial (watch it on youtube). The fragrance can only be purchased at live shows, but we are working on a distribution deal with Macy’s. Based on the success of ” Kent” we’ll see what future products we develop. Watch out Prince!

What’s something so compelling about you guys, readers must cancel all plans and rush to your live show?
There is a lot of nakedness in our live shows. Sometime we have naked mannequins on stage, sometime we get naked on stage….you never know which one it’s gonna be. And everybody like naked nakedness…regardless if it comes from a man or doll. We also do a lot of interaction with the crowd and improv in our show….mostly to entertain ourselves. So on any given night magic can happen, and you don’t want to miss magic…because it’s rather scarce these days.

Love in October play The Garage in Burnsville, MN tonight and Bar-Fly on Sept. 13.